(CN) — A federal judge has ordered the government to turn over documents related to its decision to permanently divert billions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac profits from investors to the U.S. Treasury following their $188 billion bailout in 2008.
Fairholme Funds is an investment fund run by Bruce Berkowitz. Mr. Berkowitz was named domestic equity fund manager of the decade by Morningstar Inc. in 2010, but since then his fund has massively underperformed the S&P 500 by nearly 12 percent annually, according to Seeking Alpha.
Part of the fund’s losses are due to its large holdings in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Value of preferred shares of the mortgage giants has dropped by more than half since Fairholme lost its federal lawsuit challenging the government’s 2012 amendment to the 2008 bailout terms. The amendment diverted Fannie and Freddie profits to the U.S. Treasury and eliminated dividends that normally go to private investors.
Investors described the amendment as requiring “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to pay a quarterly dividend to Treasury equal to the entire net worth of each enterprise, minus a small reserve that shrinks to zero over time.”

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